Wiretap: Shamed johns; toxic letters; Rand Paul; Rolling Stone

John Shaming

Colorado Springs police department started “john shaming” this week, a sometimes controversial tactic for dealing with the rise in the region’s commercial sex trade. It puts the threat of arrest on customers as well as providers. Authorities released the names and photos of six men recently busted for soliciting. One of the so-called Johns told the Denver Post’s Jesse Paul that his crime was “a mistake that I made and I’m trying to put it behind me.” The CSPD says the initiative will deter people from the commercial sex trade, but only a limited number of law enforcement agencies around the country have adopted the practice. Jakob Rodgers at the Gazette reports an ACLU spokesman as expressing concern “about the collateral damage to innocent family members who may be victimized by the policy of public shaming.”

Not Toxic but Toxic

Letters containing mysterious white powder showed up at two separate Jewish community centers in Boulder on Monday, prompting an evacuation and investigation that ultimately determined they were not toxic. “Jewish organizations get these things form time to time,” Har HaShem Rabbi Mark Glickman told the Daily Camera’s Mitchell Byars.

Red Flags

Hot temperatures, dry air and strong winds are a recipe for red-flag fire conditions in much of the Southwest, including plenty of Colorado. Via the Durango Herald.

Paulism

Rand Paul makes the big announcement today. And Politico has everything you need to know about the big day – and more.

Retreat

Least Worst

Jeffrey Goldberg on the Iran nuclear deal: It’s the least worst option. But, in any case, Obama shouldn’t stop there. He must come up with a creative policy to confront Iranian aggression. Via the Atlantic.

The Long Haul and Iran

Ex-IAEA deputy says the deal puts Iran on a 10-year threshold for developing a nuke and then gets worse. Via the Times of Israel.

Risky Business

Woodrow Wilson Center scholars Aaron David Miller and Jason Brodsky: There are no “good” deals with Iran. Only varying degrees of risk. Via the Wall Street Journal.

Staying with the Catholics

The ACLU wants to know whether teenage immigrants being housed in Catholic Charities-operated facilities are getting access to contraception and abortions. Via Vox.

A Really Good Story

The temptations of narrative journalism, and how Rolling Stone tempted itself into getting the story entirely wrong. Via George Packer at the New Yorker.

Suing Rolling Stone

And then there is the temptation of legal action: UVA fraternity plans to go after Rolling Stone. Via the New York Times.

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